Keeping the Faith
by Befferz
Summary: Christina Carter has tried to live a quiet life, in order to keep her powers hidden. But when the world is under threat and she is forced to help SHIELD find the Tesseract, all her secrets are revealed, and she learns that she isn't alone in this world. Takes place during the film. Steve/OC NOTE: Character is NOT related to Peggy. Please give it a chance :)
1. Chapter 1 - New Beginnings

**Okay, so this is my first Fanfic, and it's taken me a while to build up the courage to actually post the damn thing. But, theres only so much editing I can do, so enjoy the first chapter. Please review, just to let me know if it's good or not. And please be honest. If it's crap, tell me it's crap. If you like it, then great! Okay...gonna stop rambling now. **

**God I'm nervous... Here goes nothing :D**

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Mornings are pretty much the same in my life.

Although I suppose they're the same for everyone.

You make your way to the kitchen, after painfully dragging yourself out of bed, hoping that the coffee will help to wake you up a little. You take a shower, get dressed, do all the other random things that go in your own little morning routine, then off you go to work.

How was _I_ supposed to know today would be different for me.

There was a knock on my door the second I set the coffee machine going. This of course puzzled me, I mean getting a visit before 7:30am isn't a usual occurrence for me. To be honest, I don't tend to have people over at all, apart from Pepper and Tony. And I supposed that if I hadn't gotten to know them so well from working with the latter, they wouldn't come see me either. You see, for well over three years now I've worked as a Technical Analyst for Stark Industries, and over that time I got to know Tony really well. Then, after a while, Pepper also became one of my closest friends. And seeing that I don't have many close friends, that's saying something.

There was yet another demanding knock at the door, pulling me from my thoughts.

"Just a minute!" I shouted, then inwardly groaned; I wasn't even dressed yet. Instead, I was wearing my Pyjama bottoms and tank top, my dark brown hair slightly ruffled from my restless night.

Oh, what does it matter, I argued mentally. It _is _just gone seven, so if someone's going to knock on my door at this time what else can they expect, right?

Nevertheless, I quickly grabbed a thin grey hoodie and slipped it on so I at least looked a little more presentable, then made my way to the door, hoping that whoever was on the other side hadn't minded the small wait. After hurriedly unlocking my deadbolt, I opened the door.

The sight that greeted me was defiantly not what I was expecting.

My two visitors were both smartly dressed in very official looking suits, they seemed very important, and the second one looked quite threatening. I didn't like the look of them. My first thought was: Detectives maybe? FBI? But there was no reason for me to have the cops at my door.

Then they spoke:

"Christina Carter?" The man closest to me, the first one, said. He was short and looked around 40 years of age, with thinning blonde hair. The much friendlier of the two.

"Yes?" I said warily, my eyes flickering between him and his friend.

"I'm Agent Coulson" he held out a hand, that I took "I work with the _Strategic Homeland Intervention_, _Enforcement _and _Logistics Division_. Also known as-"

"SHEILD" I interrupted, nodded. "I've heard of you."

What I wanted to know is what the hell where they doing on my doorstep?!

...Well, at least they weren't cops

He smiled politely at my comment. "Of course... and I take it you've heard of what kind of work we're involved in."

Yes, I knew _exactly_ what kind of work they were involved in. I also knew, from the bits of information that I got from Tony, that you shouldn't mess around with them.

"Sort of." I shrugged. "...but why are you here?"

He looked around cautiously, surveying at the other apartments in the hallway. "Can we discuss this inside?"

"Sure..." I was unable to keep the confusion from my voice as I pulled the door back, warily letting the two agents in. It was probably for the best though; whatever these guys were going to say probably shouldn't be overheard by the general public.

"You see, Miss Carter, SHIELD has been keeping track of you for some time" Coulson said as he entered. I just looked at him plainly; I already knew that they were watching me. "We know all about you"

"Really?" I raised my eyebrows. I doubted that. But, I had to admit: I was intrigued. I already knew that they had found out some things at least, but how much had they managed to piece together without help. There was a lot of my past life that I had abandoned a long time ago. I hardly spoke of it.

"You left high school at aged fifteen." He continued, proving his knowledge. "graduated from university with degrees in Physics, Mathematics and Psychology. You've been working at Stark Industries for a few years now, are good friends with Mr Stark himself. You haven't been in touch with anyone from your childhood since you left school..." He listed off the information as if he was reading off a script. SHIELD had probably made him memorise my details off by heart. "And...we know that at aged 13 you developed telekinesis and certain 'telepathic' abilities."

Bingo! That's the part I had been waiting for! _Of course_ SHIELD knew about my powers, I had known that from the beginning.

I was just a teenager when I developed these...'supernatural abilities' as they call them. I might have had them all my life, but they only appeared to me at a later age, when I was old enough to understand what they were.

First, I found out I could move things with my mind. It started off small, very small; I could only make things small objects shake a little. I thought I was losing my mind, like anyone else would in that situation, but as i got stronger, I started to trust my sanity a bit more.

I soon began to make progress, and now I can make objects float in the air, as well as move them. If I can lift it physically, I can lift it mentally.

Not so long after, I found out I sense people's emotions when I touch them, but only their strongest feeling, those that effect them the most. It's a smaller form telepathy, and often develops in to mind-reading. However, at present I'm only a low-level telepath, meaning entering minds takes a lot of effort, so I don' t really use it that much...but it's alright at times. Then there's the other stuff that I don't tend to bring up...

"S.H.I.E.L.D needs your help, Miss Carter" Agent Coulson's voice brought me out of my reverie and I realised I hadn't said a word in reply. I had been to lost in my own thoughts, as per usual.

"My help?" I asked doubtfully, sitting down on the arm of my sofa. I had lost my nerve, I'd become anxious. I just wanted to know why they were here. "With what?"

The other, larger and more threatening man produced a folder, which Coulson promptly handed to me. I flipped it open to find a selection of pictures, the first being of a large cube that I really didn't like the look off. It was glowing light blue.

"That is the Tesseract" He informed me "it has the potential to wipe out the whole planet." This news obviously furthered my dislike of the object. The next few shots were of the same thing, hooked up to some sort of machinery. "It's been stolen."

I looked up at him with a stern expression. This was serious stuff. Why S.H.I.E.L.D. had something with that much power, I don't want to know... But the fact that they were foolish enough to let someone get their hands on it is downright idiotic! The amount of power someone could inflict with this...the entire world is under threat.

"What am I needed for exactly?" I took the pictures over to my table and spread them out, going into business mode.

"You've been recommended for your amiable computer skills and scientific knowledge" he came to stand by my side. "Because of this we need you to find it."

Wow. There's a magic cube gone missing that could kill everyone on earth, and they expect me to find it. No pressure.

"Find it? I'm guessing it leaves some sort of trace then...something that could be detected?"

If we could get hold of a sample of whatever it leaves behind, we could simply search for anywhere that kind of substance has been. It would take a long time, but it would get the job done.

Coulson nodded "It's leaving behind small amounts of Gamma radiation. We've called in a few other people who are able to trace it. You would simply be aiding them."

At least I wasn't on my own in this.

Leaning over the pictures, my hands face down on the table before me, I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. The pictures of the Tesseract stared back at me threateningly.

"Who exactly recommended me? And why me? There are plenty other scientists out there that are capable of finding this...this Tesseract." I voiced the question that had plagued my mind since they arrived, unable to keep my eyes of the blue cube.

" Mr Stark suggested you personally..."

Tony. I should have known...the bastard.

"Also," He continued "SHEILD finds that your abilities may prove helpful in this situation."

This made me sigh in frustration "Of course...That would be what they're interested in."

SHIELD had been keeping an eye on my powers for a while, ever since I first met the division, and I knew they had been keeping an eye on me. They had tried to let me think I was under their radar, but I'm not stupid.

"Do you know who took it?" I asked, rubbing my temple and trying to move past my annoyance.

"He's called Loki...he's a god"

I looked at him and frowned. "A god?" the shock was evident. "Seriously?"

Coulson nodded "You'll have a briefing pack on the jet"

I looked at the other Agent, still stood in the middle of the room. Was he here just in case I put up a fight? The whole Good Cop, Bad Cop routine.

There's no way of getting out of this.

"I don't have a choice do I?" He just smiled sympathetically and I groaned inwardly, turning back to the table "Of course not..." I muttered under my breath, fixing the pictures back in the file.

I was going to kill Tony. No, scratch that! I was going to torture him, then kill him slowly and painfully...

"How long do I have?" I said louder.

"One hour before we have to get on the Chopper." Was the given reply.

"Chopper?"

"To take us to the Helicarrier" he explained.

I looked down at the file. I don't understand why they want me for this. I get it; the powers, Stark's training, all the crap I know. But why me?

"Just give me a minute." I said flatly, before walking past him to my room, taking the file with me and flinging it on the dresser.

I ran a hand through my hair and attempted to control my thoughts. In one hours time I was going to be on SHEILDS freakin' Helicarrier, so I could help a load of other people save the world! And what about my job? What would people think when I just disappeared? Tony would probably take care of it...but I like where I am now.

I looked into the mirror and found my hazel eyes watching me intently, a slight hint of anxiety lay hidden in them. I was just a Technical Analyst. Sure, an analyst with supernatural mind powers, but still: how was I supposed to help save the world...

God, what have I gotten myself into?

I took another deep breath, I needed to stay focused on the task at hand. With that in mind, I got dressed in simple jeans and a t-shirt, then ran a brush threw my hair to sort it out and hurriedly got ready. It didn't take long for me get everything done.

After brushing my teeth, I pulled a large duffle bag out from my wardrobe and started throwing clothes in. I didn't even know how long I was going to be there, I hadn't asked, so I didn't know what I needed.

I threw some of my favourite books in there too. I doubted I'd have time to read them, but it's nice to have them at hand, just in case I get bored whist waiting for the world to end. Shaking my head, I banished the dread of what was about to occur from my mind as I hurriedly collected a few personal possessions and things I'd need in the bag, and re-entered the living room.

"Do we know how long I'll be there?" I had to ask. I had to have some kind of notion.

"I'm sorry, as long as Loki is still a threat you'll be working on this project." Coulson explained.

"So...no."

"No." He clarified. "We don't know how long."

I nodded, and looked around the room, clicking my tongue. "What about the rest of my stuff?"

"Anything else that you may need will be picked up by other agents and brought onto the Helicarrier. The rest will remain here or, depending on how long the threat continues, it will be put in storage."

I really didn't like the idea of other people touching my belongings. It's something that's always bothered me.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked.

I looked around the room once more. Part of me didn't wanted to make a run for it, to stay, but the rest of me argued against it. "Sure, let's go." I said quietly, adding finality to the decision.

It was kinda strange – and maybe a tad depressing – that I could just pack up a few essentials and leave. No one knew where I was going, what I was about to do. Hell, even I wasn't sure about what was about to happen. I should be leaving for work now, not making my way to a secret government base!

But I was still leaving with them. And even though I really didn't have a choice, I wasn't even trying to fight them. We were in danger, and if the nutcases up in SHEILD thought I could help then I might as well do all I can.

I thought about the other people who would be there. Had they tried to fight it? Or had they, like me, simply dropped everything in their lives just because they were asked to. What about Tony? If he suggested me than surely he had complied as well (no matter how unlike him that sounds). Those people who had simply been going about their daily business, who had been dropped into a completely different world where gods invaded the earth. I doubt they had any idea that today would be so different for us all.

I walked out of the apartment and locked the door behind me.


	2. Chapter 2 - Boarding

**So, what did you think of the first chapter? I hope it was alright for you guys :) **

**Anyway, after finally building up enough confidence to post that last one, I decided I might as well give you the next bit, since I'd already wrote it. Nothing special really... but tell me what you think anyway.**

**Still very, very nervous about your reactions. **

**Oh well, Here goes nothing...**

Agent Coulson led me through the large corridors of the Helicarrier, most likely to who had called me in and the rest of my team-mates. I had read about them on the jet, through the tablet I had been given, and it gave me some insight into what sort of team we would be.

I wasn't surprised to find out that Tony was going to be there, being the famous Iron Man after all. Though I remember Tony saying something about the fact that Iron Man was the perfect candidate for a SHIELD agent, but Tony Stark himself was not; something about him not playing well with others. I remember laughing at that part. Nevertheless, he _was _wanted now.

The other guy I had to help was a scientist by the name of Dr. Bruce Banner, a Nuclear Physicist with an intellect that rivalled my boss's. Unfortunately, due to major gamma radiation exposure, Dr Banner can turn into what is commonly known as the 'Hulk' when his heart rate rapidly increases. From the video's I'd seen I could tell that his other persona was more than dangerous, but as long as he stayed calm we would be perfectly safe. Dr Banners work on gamma radiation is initially what lead him to be called in, he was SHEILDS best bet on finding the Tesseract and it was my job to help both him and Tony do so.

I had also found out I would be working alongside two master assassins. The first was Agent Natasha Romanoff, known as Black Widow, the only other female member of the group, for which I was glad: at least I wouldn't be the only woman working on this thing. She didn't have any powers, but she was highly skilled in martial arts, far better than my own training, and masterful interrogation strategies. Even though I was a pretty good fighter, I could tell by the recording I'd been given that there was no way I could beat her if it came down to it.

The other was Agent Clint Barton, also known as Hawkeye, the world's greatest marksman. Apparently he was capable of firing at multiple targets in mere seconds and practices for hours every-day. However, Coulson had made it apparent that Barton had been compromised by Loki, and was under his control for now from some sort of magic mind control.

Finally, the leader of our little party was none other than the famous Captain America, the only successful experiment of the 'Super Soldier Serum'. Captain Steven Rogers had been frozen for nearly seventy years only to wake up in the 21st century to be recruited by SHIELD to lead us into battle.

Of course, reading about these things only made it seem all the more unreal to me. We were just a group of people, who each had their own unique talents, brought together to fight against a _god! _Who, might I add, had stolen a magic blue cube in order to fight then rule over the planet...

If I hadn't known this stuff was possible long ago I would think myself crazy right now.

I mean, it wouldn't be the first time I had questioned my sanity. But this was real. Here I was, walking through a ship that looked like something out of a sci-fi film, trying to control my nerves as best as I could, and failing terribly.

Finally, we came to what I supposed was the command centre; there were people working everywhere, some looking at monitors, others working on the tasks they had been given. Each one of them seemed to have something to do, and they all looked tense. I looked around in amazement, only to find that I couldn't see any of the members of the team in the room, maybe I was here early...

"Agent Carter." My eyes came to rest on a man who had called my name. He wore a long black coat with an eye-patch over his right eye. I instantly recognised him as a man I had met a very long time ago. So long ago that it felt like another lifetime. "Thank you for coming." Director Fury welcomed me as I shook his outstretched hand.

"I didn't really have a choice" I pointed out, smiling.

"I'm sorry, but it was vital that we called in everyone we could. We need to have this under control as quickly as possible." He explained.

"Of course." I nodded in understanding, before looking around the room. "Have we got any closer to finding it?"

"Not as of yet. But were doing everything we can." He assured me

"We're doing a world-wide sweep using whatever we can get our hands on" Coulson explained "If it's got a satellite then it's eyes and ears for us."

"That's too big a search." I told the two men. "It'll take forever."

I could tell that they knew this already.

"Dr Banner is already in the lab's" The director informed me "he's ruling out a few areas to narrow down the search. Agent Coulson will take you there."

"Thank you, sir." I replied, deciding to be polite to my new boss. Ugh, I hated that word: 'boss'. At least when I was working or Tony he acted more like a friend that a manager.

Agent Coulson again led me down numerous corridors as we made our way. It seemed like each hallway was exactly the same, and I could tell I was going to have a hard time finding my way around the place. I'd have to get a map or something...or maybe I could just follow everyone else around. Which reminded me...

"Where's the rest of the team? I didn't see them in the command centre?"

"We got a hit on Loki" Coulson said "Agent Romanoff and Captain Rodgers went to check it out. Apparently Mr Stark turned up there as well. They're bringing Loki back as we speak."

My eyes widened "They got him?" Agent Coulson nodded. "I'm guessing they didn't get the cube then, if I'm still here." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Loki didn't have it with him. He says it doesn't know where it is." By this time we had reached the labs. "Here you are. Dr Banner is already be in there. If you get lost just ask someone."

"Thank you." I smiled genuinely. He nodded and returned the gesture before leaving. I was thankful that he didn't hang about, it would have been awkward having an agent breathing down your neck all the time. I wasn't a very good people person, if you couldn't already tell.

I entered the lab an found myself surprised by a lot of high-tech equipment, some of which I'd never seen before, but a few of them I recognised. However, strangest of all, at the back of the room, was a machine with some sort of blue substance in the centre. It looked like the same stuff the Tesseract was made of, but I couldn't be sure, since I'd only seen the pictures.

Next to it was a man with brown hair and glasses, he appeared to be a little bit older than me. He was analysing something intently in front of him, probably notes on the strange machine.

"Dr Banner?" I guessed. He looked up suddenly towards me when I called his name. He had been so engrossed in his work that he hadn't noticed me enter. "I'm Christina Carter" I introduced myself, walking towards him and offering a hand, which he accepted.

"Right, of course...you work with Mr Stark?" he said nervously, taking off his glasses. When I shook his hand, I could sense that he felt awkward. Working in a lab most of the time probably meant he didn't have much social contact. And turning into a Hulk couldn't help much, either.

"That's right" I nodded and smiled. "I've been told that you're going to find the cube. I'm here to help." I explained. He let go of my hand, and I looked over the machinery next to him again out of curiosity.

"Is that all you've been told?" he asked. He made it sound like a joke, but I could tell that he meant it sincerely.

"No." I said truthfully, but shrugged "But the other stuff doesn't really matter much."

Truthfully, it didn't bother me at all. He seemed under control, and as long as he stayed that way we were perfectly safe. I saw no cause for alarm.

"Alright then." He nodded in acceptance and smiled warmly.

"Fury said you've been narrowing the search down?" I turned to look at a monitor, to find a few programs loaded.

"Yeah, I got all the labs to put they're spectrometers on the roof and calibrate them for Gamma rays. I've been tracking the algorithm by using cluster recognition." He opened a few other windows to show me what he had been working on. "I figured we could rule out a few areas."

I nodded and turned to an empty screen, bringing up similar programs. "Any Progress?"

"A little. But it's slow"

I had anticipated that beforehand. But at least we were getting somewhere.

"Better than doing nothing" I pointed out.

"Right..." he smiled and went back to working. I looked at the graphs his software had produced so far, and some equations he had made. I was shocked to find that, there was nothing I needed to do, he'd already done everything that needing doing. I could tell I wasn't going to be needed too much whist I was here, especially when Tony arrives.

"I read your file." He'd announced, breaking the silence that had spread over a few moments.

It seemed natural that they had been given information; if I had read about them, it made sense that they ha d read about me.

"Yeah?" It peaked my interest; I wonder how much everyone actually found out? I knew SHIELD knew about my past. Did they decide to give that away as well?

"It said you were a telepath." He turned to me, asking for confirmation. "That you could read minds, emotions... it also said you could move things?"

He hadn't mentioned anything else. Maybe they didn't know...

"Well, reading minds takes a lot of effort, and it usually doesn't work." I explained. "Last time I tried it I fell unconscious and woke up with the worst migraine in the world." I inwardly grimaced at the memory. "Though I am getting better" I added, looking over to him "But, apart from that, yeah. I can do all those things."

"And they just developed? You didn't have any exposure to anything? No experiments?"

I could tell he was interest. Dr Banners powers had come from an accident, Captain Rodgers had come from the serum, Tony only had powers 'cause of his suit. I was the only person who appeared to have them naturally.

"Nope, not a thing. Not that I know of anyway." I sighed. "There's no explanation for it. I was a normal teenager, then I just suddenly had these powers, with no idea where they came from."

"Maybe it's something in your genes?" he proposed. "A mutation maybe..." he trailed off.

"Yeah maybe."

I had stopped asking questions a while ago. It wasn't that I didn't want to find out, it's just that a long time ago I promised I wouldn't think about them anymore. I had tried to move on and live like any other normal person would. Of course that was until SHIELD had picked me up the other day.

Dr Banner and I looked up from our work as a door opening outside in the corridor, and the sound of numerous boots on the floor alerted us of a group approaching. The thought crossed my mind that the team had come back, and that they had all been sent to the lab so we could discuss something. Of course, I was wrong and should have guessed what was _really_ going on.

Just as we looked out one of the large windows, a handful of guards in SHIELD uniforms walked past with guns, escorting a tall man with long, dark hair. He was wearing some sort of battle armour with a green cape that billowed behind him as he walked. The man looked completely out of place among the rest of the people around him.

Loki, I assumed, looked into the lab, and when his eyes met mine, he smirked. I was unable to look away, the seniority in his eyes locking me to him. His gaze slowly moved to look over at Bruce, and his leer only grew. I really didn't like the way he looked at us. He was far too confident, too pleased with himself. It was almost as if he was laughing at us.

Those seconds dragged on, but finally he walked out of sight, the guards moving with him like a barricade. But he left behind a strange feeling of uncertainty that filled the room and surrounded me. The memory of that cold, hard stare and his chilling smirk would most likely haunt me forever.

We stayed silent, both uneasy about the moments that had just passed, not really sure what to say on the subject. That was until I heard the pager I was given on the chopper go off in my pocket. Then next to me, Dr Banner's did the same.

**So, no Steve in this chapter yet :( But don't worry, he'll appear a little bit in the next chapter. I decided to throw a little bit of Loki in there, and a bit of Dr Banner, I hope I didn't make them too OOC. I don't really like these first chapters; nothing really happens. But I have to get past the formalities of introducing everyone, then we can get the story moving. **

**If you can't tell, I'm very worried about this story. Am I over-reacting? Oh well, I'm allowed to disapprove of my own work, it's a privilege of being the creator :P **

**Constructing criticism very welcome. In fact it's recommended :) **


	3. Chapter 3 - Introductions

**So, I'm going to be completely honest with you: I haven't really put my best effort into this chapter. Like I said earlier, I have to get past all the formalities to get the story rolling. So these first chapters are a little boring. But, hopefully it will get better. Fingers crossed :D**

**Disclaimer (I kinda forgot about this part) = I do not own Avengers, only Chris and any other OC's I throw in the mix**

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Dr Banner and I entered the command centre to find that all but Tony and Barton where already there (the latter obviously still being under Loki's control) and there was even a new addition.

Stood in the corner was a massive man with long blonde hair that fell to his shoulders, wearing armour similar to Loki's. I would have thought him affiliated with the god of mischief, had he not been here with the rest of us instead of locked up. However, I still remained wary, for his stance spoke instantly of power and strength. Not to mention the fact that he could probably break me in half.

Another tall man sat at the table in the centre. He had short blonde hair which had been combed back, and piercing blue eyes that looked up in curiosity as we came in. If I hadn't already recognised him, the red, white and blue suit definitely would have tipped me off.

"Agent Carter?" A woman's voice said. I looked over at the other occupant of the table, She was slim, with cropped red hair that fell above her shoulders, wearing a standard issue SHIELD uniform. I remembered her to be one of the master assassins; The Black Widow.

I nodded and stepped forward, offering my hand. "Please, call me Chris"

"Natasha." She took my hand and shook it. "It's nice to have another woman on the team." Her grip was firm, showing that she had clear strength despite her size.

"My thoughts exactly" I smiled, then turned towards the Captain, who had now stood to great me.

"Steve Rodgers" he smiled nervously, a red tint to his cheeks. Like Dr Banner, I could tell that he was feeling awkward, and slightly embarrassed.

"Christina Carter" I took his outstretched hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you Captain. I've heard a lot about you."

The red on his cheeks only increased at my words. "The pleasures all mine Ma'am."

I smiled back at him and could sense that I was also blushing a little, I only hoped that no one else had noticed it.

I've never been called Ma'am before...

I turned again, after he had sat back down, to the blonde man that stood away from the table. "I'm sorry, but I don't think I know you." I admitted, hoping he wouldn't find it rude.

"I am Thor, of Asgard. God of Thunder" He said politely. He had a deep voice that made him seem even more threatening. "It is an honour to make your acquaintance Lady Christina."

Lady Christina?... I don't think I've ever been called that either.

I tried to ignore the redness growing in my cheeks. "Asgard? Isn't that where Loki comes from?" I was very uneasy at the thought of this man fighting against us, the thought of the damage he could do popping in my head yet again.

"Loki is my brother." he explained "I came to Midgard to find the Tesseract and bring him back home."

"Midgard?" I frowned.

"Earth." Natasha explained to me. "That's what they call it"

I nodded, absorbing the information. This just got stranger and stranger by the minuet.

I was slightly appalled at the fact that this man had turned against his own brother. But then again, Loki _was_ trying to enslave the human race, so I guess I was a little thankful for his aid.

A video feed appeared on the screens in front of us, so I quickly took a seat at the table to get a better view. Dr Banner, whom I had completely forgotten about, moved from his spot in the corner towards the table to get a better look. But the man named Thor remained standing, separate from us, simply listening to the recording. Perhaps he didn't trust us yet, or maybe it was the thought that his brother was locked up, but either way I sensed something was bothering him.

Through the screens we could see Loki inside a large clear holding cell, conversing with director Fury. He stood right in the middle, his posture giving of an air of confidence as he surveyed the cage he had been trapped inside, seemingly at ease.

"In case it's unclear, you try to escape, you so much as scratch that glass." Fury's voice sounded through the camera. We watched closely as he played with some controls in front of him and a huge hole appeared under Loki's cell, revealing a very big drop. A drop that was sure to kill him. I was surprised to catch a slight flicker of uncertainty on Loki's face, before it was covered with a blank mask. I wondered if anyone else had caught it. "Thirty thousand feet, straight down in a steel trap. You get how that works?"

I saw Thor tense up at the thought of his brother falling to his death. Even though he had helped capture his brother, he still worried for his life. At least he still cares for him.

"Ant." Fury pointed at Loki, closing up the hole and Thor relaxed a little. He then pointed at the controls "Boot."

Loki laughed, it was a cold sound. "It's an impressive cage" He mocked and I realised this was the first time I heard him speak. His voice, like his gaze, was filled with superiority. "Not built, I think, for me."

"Built for something a lot stronger than you." Fury countered.

"Oh, I've heard." Loki looked right at the camera, and smirked. "The mindless beast, makes play he's still a man."

Everyone looked up to Dr Banner, knowing that the god meant him. He was trying to get a reaction out of us, mess with Banner's head. But the doctor simply looked down at the screens in annoyance.

It must be horrible, to lose control like he did. I had experienced something similar once before, and I wasn't something I'd like to go through again. But for it to happen every time your pulse increased must be daunting. He had to watch every step he made, be cautious of every situation. The amount of stress on that mans shoulders was inconceivable.

I smiled weakly at the Doctor before I looked back at the screen, but I could tell he hadn't seen it, he was too engrossed in the scene before him.

"How desperate are you? That you call on these creatures to defend you?"

"How desperate am I?" Fury moved towards the cage angrily. "You threaten my world with war! You steal a force you can't hope to control! You talk about peace and you kill cause it's fun." he glared at him in defiance "You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did."

"Ooh." Loki grinned, teasing him once again "It burns you to come so close. To have the Tesseract, to have power, unlimited power. And for what?" he looked at the cameras, addressing all of us "A warm light for all mankind to share." His smirk grew "And then to be reminded what real power is."

The Director began to walk away. "Yeah, well, you let me know if 'Real Power' wants a magazine or something."

The last thing we saw was Loki alone in his cell, before the feed went off. And yet again I was reminded of the chilling air he had left behind when he looked into the lab earlier. Something about this whole thing didn't sit quite right. We had him locked up, he had nowhere to go, but still he acted as if he had the upper hand. Maybe it's because he knows we have yet to find the Tesseract, and until we do we are still in danger.

"He really grows on you, doesn't he?" Dr Banner finally spoke, breaking the ice. I was thankful that someone had, the silence was excruciating.

"Loki's gonna drag this out." Rodgers mused, ignoring him, and instead looking at the man behind me "So, Thor, what's his play?"

Obviously, he was thinking of battle plans, as our leader, that was his job.

I turned to look at the god, he had his arms crossed across his chest, looking like he was thinking something through.

"He has an army called the Chitauri" He explained "that none of Asgard nor any world knows. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the earth. Return, I suspect, for the Tesseract."

"An army? From outer space?" The soldier frowned.

I didn't like the sound of that. How were we supposed to counter an alien _army_. There were only seven of us! Six, now that Barton had been compromised. Maybe we had stood a chance against Loki alone, especially now we had another god on our side, but an army was near impossible.

"So he's building another portal." Dr Banner concluded "That's what he needs Erik Selvig for."

"Selvig?" I noticed a hint of concern in Thor's voice.

"He's an astrophysicist." Banner explained

"He's a friend."

"Loki has him under some kind of spell, along with one of ours." Natasha looked to Thor. I gathered that she was speaking of Barton. Her voice had a certain tone to it that suggested she had known the man well.

"I wanna know why Loki let us take him." Captain looked around at the group. "He's not leading an army from here."

The Captain had a point; as long as we keep Loki locked up he can't really attack us. We just have to find the cube.

"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki." I spoke up, and his eyes rested on me, listening to my opinion. "He's obviously not going to tell us where the Tesseract is, and he's not going anywhere. We should wait till we finish the Gamma trace."

Rodgers nodded, thinking it through. It seemed like he agreed with me, but he looked unsure.

"That guy's brain is a bag full of cats" Banner added "you could smell crazy on him."

"Take care how you speak" Thor argued, his voice filled with annoyance "Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard, and he's my brother."

"He killed eighty people in two days." Natasha stated matter-of-fact, looking up at him with a fixed stare.

"He's adopted." Thor added. And if it hadn't been inappropriate, I'd have probably giggled at the way he said it.

"I want to know about the mechanics." Banner mumbled "Iridium? What did they need the Iridium for?"

"It's a stabilizing agent!" I heard a familiar voice say behind me, and turned just in time to see my good friend Tony Stark enter the room. I smiled, glad that he had finally decided to make an appearance, it would be good to have a familiar face around here. Plus, his jokes really lighten the mood.

He said something quietly to Agent Coulson, who had brought him in, before looking back at us_. _"Means the portal won't collapse on itself, like it did at SHIELD." He explained. He walked past Thor and patted his arm."No hard feelings Point Break, you've got a mean swing." He said to him.

"Also, it means the portal can open as wide, and stay open as long, as Loki wants." He added, looking around the room before meeting my eye. "Nice to see you again, Buttercup." He grinned and winked. "Miss me?"

"Not for a second." I shot back, a smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. "And I told you to stop calling me that."

He shrugged and turned towards the monitors, mumbling a few words to an agent and looking around the room. "That man is playing Gallaga!" he exclaimed suddenly. Everyone looked at him in confusion. "Thought we wouldn't notice, but we did." I rolled my eyes, used to Tony's antics by now.

He covered one eye and looked from monitor to monitor. "How does Fury even see these?" I couldn't help but smile this time though, even though it was completely rude of him. You can always trust Tony to joke around when the worlds under threat.

"He turns." An Agent I heard being called 'Hill' said flatly, she didn't appear amused.

"Sounds exhausting." He sighed, and I chuckled. Tony turned back and flashed me a smile before he continued explaining about the Iridium. He basically told us that the other materials were easily obtained, but a high density power source was still needed to get the cube running. Which would be very bad for us because it could mean the end of the world...simple stuff really.

"When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" Agent Hill asked. I could tell that she didn't like Stark either, like most of the SHIELD agents. Tony's sense of humour and the fact that he can be quite...annoying, really pisses people off.

"Last night." He said proudly "The packet, Selvig's notes, the Extraction Theory papers. Am I the only one who did the reading? Buttercup?" He looked at me hopefully.

I glared at him "I swear to God, if you call me that again I will personally make your life a living hell."

He feigned being hurt. "It already is; having to put up with you." he shot back.

"Me? You're the one that drives people crazy." I smiled "I just feel sorry for poor Pepper...how has she not murdered you yet?"

"She has _amazing _will-power" he nodded, going along with it.

Tony and I did this all the time, just like brother and sister, it's part of what makes working for him fun. It's probably why I became friends with him quickly, he never acted like my boss. Plus, teasing just meant I wasn't constantly trying to strangle him.

"Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?" The Captain interjected before I could make a comeback.

"He got to heat the cube to a hundred and twenty million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier." Banner explained to him. But I could tell that most of the people in the room were confused by the answer.

"Unless, Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunnelling effect." Tony countered.

"Well, if he could do that he could achieve Heavy Ion Fusion at any reactor on the planet."

"Finally, someone who speaks English." Tony threw his hands in the air.

I heard Cap ask quietly: "Is that what just happened?" and I suppressed another smile.

"It's good to meet you, Dr. Banner" Tony said, shaking his hand "You're work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled." He praised "And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster."

"Tony!" I scolded him, eyes wide; he just had to add that last part! I swear, one day his smart-ass remarks are going to get him in serious trouble!

"What!" he shrugged "You think it's awesome too! I can tell!"

I glared at him while the Doctor mumbled a quiet 'thanks'.

"Dr. Banner is only here to track the cube." Fury's voice alerted us of his presence, much like Tony had done moments ago. These guys love to make dramatic enterences. "I was hoping you and Agent Carter might join him."

"Let's start with that stick of his." Captain suggested "It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a Hydra weapon."

I had read about Hydra in his file. He had fought against them once in the past. Apparently they had made these extremely high tech weapons, trying to take over the world and such. His name was Schmidt, or something like that. But, the Captain had stopped them and in the process crashed the plane he was on into the ocean, taking the cube with him. That must be how SHIELD got their hands on it.

"I don't know about that, but it is powered by the cube. And I'd like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys!" He said angrily.

"Monkeys?" Thor repeated in utter confusion. "I do not understand-"

"I do!" Steve exclaimed whist pointing at Fury, happy to have understood something. He noticed the odd looks and settled back down. He look at me proudly, with a slight blush "I understood that reference." He told me. I smiled at him, and he smiled back, pleased with himself.

Tony simply rolled his eyes before turning over to Banner "Shall we play, Doctor?"

Banner nodded. "This way Sir." He gestured for towards the labs, leading Tony out the door before turning back to me. "Miss Carter?"

I looked to him surprised, before it clicked. "Oh right...the labs." I got up hurriedly from my seat and followed them out the hall.

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**This chapter is just the tiniest bit longer. I tried to cut some dialogue out and add my own in, but really this was just adding my OC into the scene a little. Plus, there's only so much editing I can do.**

**I'm going to start the next bit and I promise it'll be better...hopefully. **

**Let me know how I'm doing so far :) I'm still really worried about this story. **

**Thanks to those who've added this story as an alert or favourite! It's really made my day :D Thanks for reading x **


	4. Chapter 4 - A New Day

**So, it took me a while to write this one. I wanted to add a little more detail. Just a heads up, I have added another few scenes in before Loki's escape, just to develop some things. **

**Still very, very nervous. Thank you to all those who have added/followed my story, you guys make my day. Thanks for the reviews too guys :D **

**IMPORTANT!**** = Okay, I'd just like to point out that Chris, my OC, is not related to Peggy. I know they have the same last names, a very embarrassing mistake on my part. Carter is the last name of one of my favourite authors, so it was an accident. ****They are NOT related.**

**Okay now that's over, enjoy... :)**

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When I had woken up the next morning I had panicked for a moment, forgetting everything that had happened the past day until I had studied the foreign aspects of my newly assigned room. Then when it hit me all I really wanted to do was go back to sleep, but of course now that I was awake there was no chance in hell that was happening.

When I came in last night, after Tony had kicked me out of the labs, ordering me to get even just a little rest , I hadn't really took much notice of my surroundings. I'd collapsed on the bed in the centre of the room and, for the first time in what seemed like forever, I'd fallen asleep straight away.

Usually, it took me forever to drift off, sometimes it could be going on till 4am. It didn't help that I was a really light sleeper either. It was a sort of defence mechanism I'd developed a few years ago, I guess. It could be really useful in that sense, but now it was just plain annoying.

As I looked around, I saw that it was of a reasonable size. In the corner sat a few chairs situated around a small table, not far from which was a door that I supposed led to the bathroom. The bed, as mentioned earlier, was in the middle, opposite a simple bookcase and a desk that was completely empty apart from the black duffle bag perched on top. It seemed that one of the agents from the chopper had brought it in like they promised, I had just failed to notice it.

Honestly, I wasn't usually this unperceptive.

I reluctantly dragged myself from the bed, surprised at how well rested I was. You would think that I would have been up all night worrying without a wink of sleep, especially with everything that was going on...

As I rummaged through the bag in order to find something to wear, I wondered whether I would be forced to dress in one of those SHIELD uniforms that Natasha wore. Even though she had looked perfectly nice in her's, I doubted it would have the same effect on me. I'd much rather have my usual jeans and a simple vest top.

So, choosing these desired items, I went into the bathroom intent on getting a quick shower before dressing. I was in a rush, determined to get back into the labs as soon as I could, no matter what Tony said.

It was strange how quickly we had all fit into our roles. It had only been one day and I had already silently accepted my duty. Perhaps I wasn't as bothered about this as I once thought. Sure, I could no longer spend my days at home, tucked in the safety of my apartment, but there was an important job that needed doing.

Since when did I become so sensible?

After I was ready and having decided there was nothing else I needed to do in here, I was on my way.

I hadn't found it as hard as I'd thought, fining my way around here. Though of course it still took me a while to reach my exact destination, but I was getting the hang of it. Though an agent did have to show me to my room yesterday, which was kind of embarrassing.

"Miss Carter?"

I turned towards the voice, only to find Captain Rodgers coming down the corridor to my right, giving me a small smile.

"Morning Captain" I greeted politely, a little surprised at his sudden appearance. "Do you need something?"

As far as I knew we hadn't found out anything about the Tesseract recently, and apart from that I had no idea what he'd want. Unless they'd found something out last night?

"Call me Steve" He caught up to me, and we continued our journey. I remained confused.

"Then you can call me Chris" I replied, then returned to my earlier question. "_Is _there something I can help you with?"

"Oh right" He rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. "I, um... I hope you don't mind me asking this..."

I entered the labs, waving to Dr Banner, and looked back at the soldier, suddenly anxious about whatever question he was trying to put forward. "Well that depends on what you're asking me." I replied truthfully, offering him the slightest of smiles, hoping to put him at ease a little.

"Your file...it said you can move things...with your mind?"

Oh.

"Oh, that" I smiled wider. If it was even possible, the second I said it he looked even more nervous.

I decided to put the poor guy out of his misery, I could probably guess what he was going to ask anyway. It was the same thing Tony and Pepper had wanted, and to be honest I was surprised that no one else had come forward about it yet. Maybe they had seen it all before, seeing as they themselves had 'abilities'? Steve, as I was now to call him, might just find it strange since he came from a different time...

I watched as Steve's eyes grew wider, one of the clipboards Banner had left out levitating in front of him. It wasn't often that I got to see the reactions, so I internally grinned, and allowed myself to feel just the tiniest bit proud for once. Steve reached out to grab it, and I pulled it away teasingly.

"That's amazing" the Doctor spoke up from across the room, his eyes trained on the clipboard in awe as he looked up from his work, Steve simply nodded in agreement.

"Thank you" I said genuinely, allowing the object to twirl in mid air before I slowly set it down in its original place. I walked over to a screen, deciding it was probably best to stop messing around and get on with some work.

"It's a little early to showing off now isn't it, buttercup?"

I rolled my eyes and turned towards the man that had probably been stood there the whole time, already knowing who it was. No one else would dare call me 'buttercup'.

Sure enough I turned around and there stood Tony, leaning against the door, with two paper cups in his hand.

"I told you not to call me that." I said in a sing-song-voice.

"And I chose not to listen." He smirked handing me the second cup he held, and my eyes lit up.

I offered a mumbles 'thanks' before instantly taking a sip of the warm brown liquid. How Tony knew exactly how I liked my coffee I had no idea. He had never made me one before, it was often the other way around. But nevertheless, somehow he had managed to get it exactly right: black, with a hell of a lot of sugar.

I'd had it that way for years, since those late nights studying for my degree's. At the time the caffeine and the major sugar rush had helped keep me awake, but now it didn't have much of an effect on me, I just craved the sweetness of it.

"Tony, have I ever told you how much I love you" I closed my eyes, relishing in the familiar taste of caffeine. When I opened them I caught his trademark smirk.

"You know, I don't think you have...care to enlighten me."

I shook my head and dramatically sighed. "You know I would...but I think your ego's big enough as it is."

He raised his eyebrows at me. "My, my, my, aren't we in good mood this morning."

"I try." I grinned in response, placing my hand over my heart in mock gratification.

He smiled before his eyes grew serious, which is never a good thing for Tony. He's never serious. "Anyway...I hate to be the bringer of bad news, buttercup. But Fury wants to see you." He pointed at me.

My smile faded, and my suspicion grew "Why?" It came out as a whine, like I was a child who had just been told to come in from playing in the street.

"I don't know" he shrugged "But it's not good. He said it was urgent."

Great. What the hell could have possibly gone wrong in one day?

"Where is he?" I groaned.

As Tony led me to the command centre, I couldn't help but worry. He had said it wasn't good news, which probably means something bad has happened. I haven't done anything wrong though, or at least I don't think I had, so it shouldn't have anything to do with me. A thought crossed my mind, but I instantly pushed it away. I doubt it would be about that. If it's not been brought up already then there's no way he'd mention it now.

I mentally shook my head and told myself to stop overreacting.

"Agent Carter" Fury greeted me as I entered the room, much like when I had first arrived. He offered me a firm nod instead of the usual handshake. I didn't reply to him, I didn't even return the gesture, instead I got straight to the point. I just wanted to find out what was going on. I didn't like not knowing things, I had to be kept in the loop. Which I guess is a little hypocritical of me.

"Tony said you wanted to speak to me, Sir?" I added the formality as an afterthought, deciding that it wasn't in my best interest to be rude to the man before me. you know, just in case I had somehow managed to mess up without me even knowing it.

"It's about Loki." He nodded again "I want you to go to his cell; interrogate him. See I you can get anything from him."

Well this certainly wasn't what I had expected. Not at all. He seriously wanted me, Stark industries technical analyst, to cross examine a God? A God of mischief and lies, no less?

"Sir, wouldn't agent Romanoff be better for this sort of thing?" I asked, a little confused to be honest.

It had said in her files that Natasha was one of the best interrogators SHIELD had ever seen, able to stay cool in whatever situation, whist still withdrawing the most vital information using amazing tactics. She specialises in finding out the darkest secrets of our enemies.

All I had was a degree in Psychology...

"With your abilities you'll be able to grasp a more deeper understanding of what he's planning."

...and telepathic abilities.

"A deeper understanding?" Tony piped up next to me. "You want her to look into the mind of a mad man?"

Of course, that's exactly what he wanted me to do. I could probably find out where the Tesseract was just by filing through his memories, then this whole thing would be over. But, there was a major flaw with that plan.

"Sir, as you well know I am only a low-level telepath." I informed him. "Reading this guy's mind is damn near impossible for me, not to mention all the barricades he'll be using to prevent me from getting me anywhere near his thoughts."

Loki was bound to know something about what I could do, and there's no way he'd let me use my ability on him willingly. He's bound to have done something to stop me getting to him. He is a god after all. It'll take a lot of effort for me to even attempt it, never mind finding my way past all his tricks.

"And hopefully with a bit of training we can change that." Fury stated firmly. "We'll be able to make improvements, make you a bit stronger."

Training? What the hell was he going to do: play around with my head till I got better at mind reading? That's insane. Though I suppose that if I managed to get better at my other abilities, than I could progress in this one also. But did I really want to? I'd be intruding on other people, taking away their privacy. I didn't want that. It's beyond unethical...it's dangerous. I didn't want that sort of power.

"However, for now" the director continued "Your other abilities will make do."

I stopped for a moment and just stared at him. Now I understood what he wanted from me, and I didn't like it one bit.

"You want me to use his emotions against him" I said flatly. Fury just nodded.

In my opinion, toying with someone's emotions is even worse than reading their mind. That's why I try my best not to use it. The sort of thing he's asking isn't just about seeing what they're thinking, it's pulling out their feelings and playing around with them till they give in. Emotional torture.

But I didn't really have a choice. Loki wanted to enslave us, and unless we find the Tesseract, he may still find a way.

I nodded reluctantly, not knowing what else to say. I could protest some more, but that'd just be a wasted attempt, and a pathetic one at that.

"Alright then, make your way over there now. Agent Hill?" he looked over my shoulder at the brown haired agent. "Page the rest of the team, I want them watching."

Wow, no pressure or anything.

Tony gave me a sympathetic look as I left the room, knowing like I did that I didn't have a choice. My stomach twisting into knots the closer I got to the holding room. The memory of yesterday flashed in my mind, when Loki walked past the labs. The confidence his smirk held as he leered at us, the surreal chilling atmosphere he left in his wake. It sent shivers down my spine, and I knew I wasn't going to like this.

I turned the corner and bumped into Dr Banner and Steve going the other way.

"Fury wants you in the command centre." I informed them as I walked past.

"Yeah...we know..." Banner sounded confused "You aren't coming?

I stopped and turned to look at them "I have to go see Loki." I said, disappointment clear in my voice "Fury wants me to interrogate him" I sighed. "Wish me luck." I joked half-heartedly.

"What?" Steve spoke up, ignoring my last comment. "Fury's sending you in there on your own?"

"Yep" I shrugged, to be honest I hadn't thought about that. "They'll probably be guards in there though."

"No, it's not safe." He said firmly, frowning at me. He looked worried, which surprised me, but I must admit, it was kind of sweet.

"Thank you for your concern." I smiled "But I'll be fine. I can take care of myself."

"You're not going in there alone." He stepped forward, standing his ground.

I sighed. I didn't have time for this. I wish I could listen to him, and not go in there, but this needs to be done. I looked over to the door, behind which I knew Loki was waiting, then back to them.

"I kinda have to. Fury's orders." Steve's expression hadn't changed, his blue eyes remained hard as I stared into them. "Look, I won't be long, and you'll be watching the whole time, just..." I searched my head for the right words "...just trust me on this. I'll be alright."

I gave him a weak smile before turning and making my way to the door without waiting for a reply.

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**Soooo... what'd ya think? You liking it so far? **

**You know I was re-reading the first chapter earlier and there was one thing that I couldn't stop thinking about: She forgot to turn the coffee machine off :O **

**Anyways, thanks to you all again :D I hope you enjoyed this Chapter, it was a bit choppy at the end there... oh well...**

**Next chapter will be up soon. I'd love to hear your views, so please review x **

**Thanks for reading :D **


	5. Chapter 5 - Into the Lions Den

**Hey guys! I just want to give a quick thanks to all my followers and those who added my story as a favourite, you guys are awesome :) And thank you sooo much if you reviewed, it means a lot to me...you guys are awesome too :D **

**Tried to edit this chapter and improve it as much as I could, but I just got tired of reading it over and over, so you're stuck with how it is now :P**

**Disclaimer (I keep on forgetting this) = I do not own Avengers or any other marvel verse stuff. I only own Chris. **

**And here we go...**

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The doors opened to reveal a large room with the huge transparent cylinder that was Loki's cell in the centre. A few guard stood on either side of the entrances to the room, but they offered me little comfort. They were there in-case he broke out, but would they actually be able to fight against him. Despite that, I nodded to them in greeting as I made my way into the lion's den, only a few of them returned the gesture, the rest of them kept their eyes on the prisoner.

The god himself stood in the centre of the glass cage, facing away from the door and I, with his hands behind his back, the perfect picture of ease. His stance demanded confidence and power, and he looked somewhat relaxed despite the situation he was in. You'd think that he'd be more worried about the fact that he had been captured, but no, he was perfectly content to stand there all day and let us flit about him, figuring out his plans. He liked to watch us squirm.

"So, Fury sends little girls to do his handy-work now, does he?" Loki spoke as a way of welcome, a chuckle followed, it was a cold sound that chilled the air. I wasn't surprised that he knew it was me, even with his back turned, he seemed to have his way of knowing things. That and he could probably see my reflection on the transparent glass in front of him.

When he turned to look at me he wore an intimidating stare. But it had little effect on me, I was here to do a job, so I kept my emotions neutral. But I still didn't like it, the same way I hadn't liked it in the lab, or from watching the interview. The air around him had a strange ambiance that I couldn't quite describe, it was unnerving. His emotions were unlike anything I had ever felt, and they were horrid. He was filled with such hatred and disgust, with something else underlying them all.

"I'm not quite sure what you mean?" I played it cool, staring at him with indifference, and ignoring his mocking tone. I presumed I was supposed to take offence to his comment, and he wanted a reaction from me, but I let it go. I knew that if I showed fear or anger he would play on it, he was a sociopath, maybe even a sadist.

He smirked. "Your here to ask me where the Tesseract is." It was a statement not a question. If it hadn't been complete inappropriate I might have chuckled at the obviousness of it. Instead I chose to look at him with my eyebrows raised, wearing an expression that simply read: 'Well, duh...'

"Of course I am." I dared to take another step forward, moving myself closer to the glass. "It's what everyone wants." I don't know why I was keeping my distance. Was it out of fear, or just a precaution?

He walked right up to the glass and leered at me, his cold eyes scrutinised my every movement for a moment, as if he was looking piercing my thoughts. I felt uncomfortable and averted my eyes for a moment, wanting to look away from his stare. "And you? Is that what _you _want?"

"Of course" I frowned as I leant against the railing. "Why wouldn't I want it?" I knew what he was doing, I had used it many times myself. He was twisting my words, trying to confuse me. But that's what he does, isn't it? Playing with words is sort of in his job description. And all the psychology textbooks in the world couldn't help me against a god of mischief. Natasha should be in here; she'd be better at this than I am.

He smirked at me. "You tell me..."

I rolled my eyes, not even bothering to hide the gesture. "My world doesn't get destroyed and I get to go home and live a happy life. I don't see the problem there." I stared fixedly at him, speaking with a bored tone. Surely that much was obvious. Like I'd want him to enslave the human race...

"Oh yes, and what a happy life you've lead so far." He smiled, and something about it made me very uneasy.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "You don't know anything about my life." I said with a little too much spite.

"Oh, on the contrary. I know plenty" His voice mocking, teasing me. "Young Christina, left her old life behind in search for a new one, all because she couldn't deal with the fact that her parents resented her " I froze. Loki must have sensed my shock and hesitation, because his smile only grew.

"Oh yes, I know everything about that." He continued, looking down at me. There was a glint in his eye as he spoke, and I could tell that he had caught me. He was happy now, enjoying the flashes of emotions that crossed my face at his words. "I know about your little secret too..."

All the air left me with those words. I didn't breath, I didn't speak, I just looked at him in horror. A chill running through me as my memories resurfaced for a moment, before I tried to push them back down. I had known that he would play on my emotions, but I hadn't expected this.

"H-how...?" I managed to say, but it came out so quiet that, at first, I thought he hadn't heard it.

"Oh, you didn't think SHIELD would wipe it off your record completely, did you?" It was true, I had known SHIELD would keep a testimony of what has happened. But they had kept it hidden until now. I had hoped that they would act as if nothing had ever happened. "Do your little team of friends know? Do they know what you're really like? What your even capable of?"

"They know everything" I said a little too quickly. And it was clear that he saw right through it, of course he had. How could I lie to the master of lies?

He let out a cold chuckle, a smirk playing on his lips. "Of course they do, I bet you told them all about it." he said sarcastically.

No, I hadn't told them, and I knew SHIELD hadn't either, otherwise they'd have mentioned it by now. But Tony knew, I had blurted out everything to him after he found out about my power. He and Pepper where the first people I had trusted in a long time; I couldn't bear to lie to them. And I had to have at least one person know about it, no person could carry that much weight on their shoulders alone, it would kill them.

"Do you know what you are?" he continued glaring right in my eyes, locking them in a stare so I couldn't turn from him like I had before, and now so desperately wanted to. His gaze was excruciating, his eyes knew too much, they looked deep into my soul and found all my secrets, reading each one as he pleased. "You're a mutation." He stated. "A magnificent life form in a world of normality."

"Our world is not normal." I managed to whisper in defence. I felt my resolve slipping. I could no longer hide what I was thinking, if I had ever actually hidden anything at all. Perhaps he had seen through me right from the start. I had been doomed to be the subject of his torment the second I stepped foot in this room.

He paused for a moment, debating something. I could feel his eyes examining every twitch I made, every micro-expression that crossed my face before I tried my hardest to hide it.

"No, you're right." He nodded, coming to a conclusion. I knew that wouldn't be it though, he wouldn't admit to being wrong. "Your world is definitely _not_ normal. Your team is evidence enough for that. But think about this..." he stepped back. "Your team, are all accidents with artificially made powers." Looking around to where the camera's where, he addressed everyone who listened. "They are all humans, cursed with something they weren't meant to hold. Your friend Mr Stark, is a mere man in a suit of armour. The Doctor? Is just an experiment gone wrong. And the Captain, your own soldier out of time. He was a scientific experiment, wasn't he? Nothing more than a lab rat."

He turned to face me again, and if possible he sounded even harsher than before.

"But you?" he grinned. "Every power you posses comes from your blood. A human, born with the powers of a god. A power that you don't even hold the strength to control." It sounded like some twisted and deranged complement, but each word burned into me, searing themselves into my mind. "You see, the truth is; your an abnormality. No matter how many extraordinary people you surround yourself with, your alone in this world. And you will always be alone." He stared at me fixedly, a smile on his face. "A freak among freaks."

I knew he was telling the truth. Deep down, I had known it all along. Hiding it with the thought that I was among people who understood what it was to be different. But once the questions start, I'll become an outcast again. They'll query everything, my full power, my ability to control it and when they do I'll become like Doctor Banner: A person everyone secretly fears because they know the damage they can cause. Only I've hidden it from them. They won't trust me.

I couldn't speak, I didn't know what to say. Part of me could tell that they were watching. They were all sat in the command centre, listening in like we had with Fury's interrogation. Part of me like to think that maybe Tony had turned it off. He knew what Loki was talking about, so maybe he had tried to keep the others from listening in.

The room felt smaller now, the air thick with tension, threatening to choke me. I wanted to leave and get away from this man, but I wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

"That may be so" I spoke finally. "But if you give up the cube, when this is over, maybe I could find others like me. There's no way I'm the only one out there."

He shook his head, looking at me with what I could only assume was pity, if he was even capable of such emotion. "Such a lost creature, still clinging onto the idea of hope."

"Hope is all I have. If I don't keep my faith in something...I'll lose myself." I stated. Not only was I admitting it to him, but to myself as well.

From the age of 17 I'd survive by living off of faith. I needed something to believe in when things where rough. I needed to believe that I could make it in the world on my own, that everything would turn out okay, and that I'd find someone like me. I managed to keep my faith in something. What that was, I'm not too sure.

"What about you?" I mumbled, locking my past and emotions away to deal with later. I needed to turn this conversation around, make it about him again.

"Excuse me?" He frowned.

"What do you gain from keeping the Tesseract?" I asked, my voice still quiet.

"Power, control." He gestured grandly with his arms. "And my rightful claim to rule." He said, as if it was obvious. God, was there no limit to the size of his ego.

"Are you that desperate to beat your brother, to have more power than him, that you would destroy an innocent planet?"

Loki, as it turned out, had been adopted and is not an actual Asguardian prince. He was never informed of his true heritage as a Frost Giant, but spent most of his life trying to prove himself equal to Thor. Despite everything he's done, I still felt the tiniest bit sorry for him. But it's still not a justifiable reason for this; we hadn't done anything to evoke this devastation.

"Oh, your planet is far from innocent" he smiled again, as if it was a joke. "I have watched your people, I have seen what they are capable of." As flash of anger showed in his usually blank eyes, as he strode right up to the glass again. "You lie and cheat and kill. You act as if you rule this planet, when really all you are is pathetic creatures trying to be something greater than you can understand!"

I was silent for a moment, examining his expression and trying to calculate my next move. To be honest, I didn't care anymore. This man had dug up my past and put it on show for all to see. I wouldn't play his games for much longer.

"And how does that make you any different?" I said accusingly, feeling irritation bubble from deep inside of me. I let it take control for a moment, showing him that I wasn't afraid of him or his stupid mind tricks. "How can you declare us as cheaters when you yourself are the God of Mischief and Lies?" I continued "You threaten us with an _army, _leave destruction everywhere you go, and you call _us _killers?" I walked up to the glass in defiance, no longer scared of this man, just angry that he dared to talk of my life. "Yes, I am alone in this world. But you are just as alone as me." I knew this was probably the rise he wanted, but I didn't care anymore.

He hesitated for a split second before laughing again, but it was different than before. There was an undertone to it that told me I had said the right thing.

"Is this what you were sent here to do?" he questioned, with a strange look in his eye. There was anger, with sadness and betrayal seeping in. The betrayal of his father and brother. I began to pity him. "To appeal to my humanity by telling me we are equals."

"Yes" I admitted "That was exactly what I was supposed to do." I took a step forward and stood my ground. "But, not by showing you we are equals. I was to come and use my power on you. To make you feel what all those people out there feel." I gestured to the cameras. "I was going to make you experience first-hand how scared the people of earth, how hopeless and desperate they feel. And maybe it would be too much for you. I doubt it, but maybe you'd give in."

He smiled slightly again. "I must say, it is a clever form of torture."

"Yes it is" I nodded in agreement. I reached out my mind, ready to begin, and opened the floodgate to let it others emotions. I remembered the familiar feeling of experiencing foreign emotions, sometimes it could be pleasant, sometimes unbearable, but it was always like an current had ran through me. It enhanced my senses and made everything feel so much more real, more vivid. Just as I was about to touch his emotions, however, I stopped myself. "But do I really have to?"

I saw something falter in his eyes, something I had only seen when the idea of falling 30,000 feet was dangled over his head.

It was a strange thing, especially after what he had exposed about me, to feel sorry for him. He had blurted out the thing I had tried my hardest to hide for years now, had threatened my planet, and planned to enslave us all. But I couldn't help it. No matter how hard I tried, I always empathised with those whose emotions I had felt, because I had experienced exactly what they were feeling.

Under the anger and hatred, there was always a cause.

"You know what it is to feel desperation, and you know what it is to feel sadness. I can see them in your mind" I continued, walking right up to him so only the glass separated us. I spoke quieter, so it wouldn't be barely audible to those watching. No one deserves to have their feelings broadcasted, and I would not be brought down to his level. "The pressure you have on your shoulders, the need you have to prove yourself to the world. It stems from something much deeper within you."

"Do not push me, mortal." He spoke in a calm voice that seemed much deadlier than when he was shouting. But it only meant that I had hit the truth.

"Your fighting a lone battle, and the weight that you bear is becoming too much for you. If you don't win then what happens to you?"

"I will defeat you." There was determination in his voice, but I could no longer tell if it was false or not.

"Will you?" I questioned him. "Because your emotions tell me that you're not too confident on how this story ends. Are you sure you still want to defeat us?" He banged his fist on the glass again, but this time I didn't flinch. "Your tiered Loki. And you're scared." I stepped away "I don't need to show you how this world feels, your own emotions are enough for you right now."

With that, I turned my back on the god. Fury would probably be annoyed at me for not getting anything from him and just walking out, but he was probably going to send Nat in anyway. So I walked away from his icy stare, knowing that my words had done nothing to change his mind, yet unable to say anything else.

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**Sooo, a bit of Loki there for you :) Hope he wasn't OOC, but I tried my best. **

**Chris seems to have a thing for leaving a room without waiting for a reply, she's a bit moody :D **

**Thanks again to everyone who read this, reviews are welcome, in fact they're encouraged ;) **

**Next chapter should be up soon x**


	6. Chapter 6 - Facing the Team

**I know, I know, I know, It's been over a month! I'd give you some excuse about college, but I only started on Wednesday so that would be a lie, truth is that I don't like this chapter at all. So much so, that I've literally been editing it all day and have complete re-written this from scratch three times :( **

**I apologise in advance, and I hope it doesn't suck too much, but I can't put it off anymore. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avengers or any other marvel creations. Which is a real shame in my opinion :'(**

**Enjoy x**

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There was a knot of nervousness in my stomach that seemed to tighten as I got closer and closer to the command centre. Each step I took only filled me with more dread, knowing that behind those doors at the end of the corridor sat the rest of the team, impatiently waiting to bombard me with curious questions and wary glances. Going back in there and facing them was a task I would have rather liked to avoid altogether, but logically I knew it would need to be done sooner or later; prolonging it would just make me feel worse.

I was overreacting probably just the tiniest bit, I do tend to do that sometimes, and often the situation seems so much worse in my head than it actually turns out to be when it plays out. Right now, I was desperately hoping it was one of those times.

Only a couple of metres away now, I distinctly heard the quiet murmur of voices, and even though their reactions were something I wasn't looking forward to, I found myself straining to listen. They weren't shouting, which was a good sign, so none of them were particularly verbal about their anger, if they were angry at all that is. Maybe I_ was_ overreacting.

I quietly walked through the door to find everyone was in their usual stations around the main table. Director Fury was stood at the head of the table, as per usual, trying to maintain his dominance over the group. Likewise, Thor and Dr Banner also remained standing, much like before when we were watching Fury's attempt at conversing with Loki. Natasha, Steve and Tony were instead sat at the table, but only the latter looked even remotely relaxed, slouching back in one of the black cushioned chairs, and propping his feet up on the one next to him.

"This thing Loki's talking about, her full potential, is it dangerous?" Natasha spoke, clearly not realising that the object of the conversation had now entered the room. She was looking at Tony, correctly assuming that he knew most of what was going on, but it looked as if he wasn't going to answer her. Instead in was Fury who, with his ever present authoritative tone, chose to reassure the group:

"I assure you Agent Carter is in complete control of her powers. There is no need to focus on a threat that is not present at this moment in time."

I realised that his words it didn't really had much effect on this team, and none of them would take his word for it. Did any of them actually trust him at all? He just appeared in all of our lives and seemed to know everything there was to find on us, without even sharing the slightest bit of detail about this organisation.

"What I want to know is why SHIELD kept this hidden?" Dr Banner this time, confirming my thoughts. At least he wasn't focusing on the fact that I hadn't told them either, but perhaps that would come later, when they actually realised that I was stood in the vicinity.

The Director didn't answer, which was an extremely bad move on his part, for his silence spoke volumes. It spoke of his guilt in hiding my details from the team, and even more so; it told them that there was a reason that he kept it from them.

What they didn't realise is that it wasn't on the files because Fury had assured me all those years ago that it would be stricken from the record. All though, according to Loki, even that wasn't completely true.

"So what exactly is her 'full potential'?" Steve looked between Fury and Tony. It seemed, that of the people who knew, both of them had decided to remain silent, and instead of replying they let his question hang in the air, adding just that little bit more tension to the room.

I saw Tony sigh and look away unable to speak for knowing he would betray my trust of him for which I was partially thankful. He had been asked to choose between their trust or mine, and he had chose me. Fury also decided that he wanted to look elsewhere at that moment in time, for he too turned away from the table and away from what they all wanted to know. Why he hadn't said anything I didn't know. Maybe he thought it would be better coming from me or Tony, or maybe I had been too harsh and I really could trust him just a little bit too.

The question still remained unanswered. Their doubt would build up against me until the little bit of trust I had built would shatter into a million pieces, or until someone built up enough courage to speak the truth.

I took a deep breath.

"Psionic Blades."

Heads swirled round to greet me, each one resembling the questions that I had been expecting all along. I had chosen to break the hushed pressure in the air before it could even begin to settle, giving them the facts they had wanted to know. For now, at least, I was glad that I spoke up, sure I had made the right chose.

However, I felt no weight ease itself from my shoulders, and though I did feel relieved that it was out there in the open, I still felt anxious under their penetrating gazes. I found myself unable to look at any of them, as I decided to walk to the table in the centre. It was as if I could feel their eyes following my movements, making myself feel conscious.

Tony was the only person with whom I had the courage to meet his eye, and in return, he looked at me such a such a way that suggested his concern, asking in a silent question whether I was okay. I gave a slight nod in reply. I'd be fine.

"I told you sending me in their was pointless; I'm not an interrogator." I turned to Fury, repeating what I had been trying to tell him since he asked me to go in there, ignoring the rest of them for now. "We should have sent someone else instead."

Fury nodded sharply "We'll send in Agent Romanoff. Her training might be able to get us somewhere"

Well at least he was listening to me now. Although, I did feel a little sorry for Natasha for having to go in there, but Fury was right. She was trained for that sort of thing.

My eyes flicker back to the group, and I leaned against the chair on which Tony rested his feet. I looked at each one of them carefully and individually, seeing curiousness reflected in all of their eyes, before explaining my earlier statement.

"A few years ago, before I'd even begun working for Tony, there was an incident." I was surprised by the composure of my voice, it was like I was in business-mode or something, because my voice didn't waver with my guilt or nervousness. Instead it remained steady and clear as I chose my words carefully. "I don't know how it happened, or why exactly, but maybe the surge if emotions I'd experienced at the time had causing another power to... 'activate' if you will." There confusion didn't waver, but I saw that I had their upmost attention, and continued to tell them my little tale. "I call them Psionic Blades"

Before I could explain the rest of what little information I had, from the corner of the room, Dr Banner spoke. "_Psionic_ Blades? As in Psychic?"

"Sort-of, yeah. I guess I could be classed as a mental phenomenon." I mused. I can't really be classed as Psychic, since most people see that as 'seeing the future' and all that, whereas I don't even know if that's possible, let alone if I can do it. Though I suppose that if the things that have happen to us are possible, so may be a lot of things. You need an open mind when it comes to things like this, I've learnt, for who knows if there is anything that is truly impossible.

"I still don't understand. What is it you actually do?" Natasha said, and I could tell, from the faces of the rest of the team, that they were all on the same page. They still had questions that needed to be answered, I would just have to try my hardest to answer them to the best of my ability.

"It seems that by channelling the Psychic powers I posses, I can form an object that appears in the shape of a knife or sword." I explained "They're basically razor sharp blades of pure mental power, that seem to cut through almost anything."

"Mental energy manifesting it's self as Physical energy" Banner nodded, his hand on his chin like he often does when he's thinking something over.

"Exactly. But I can only manifest it as a blade for some reason, perhaps because that's how they first appeared." I began to fidget, there were still looking at me as if they expected more information, but I didn't know what else to tell them; I didn't understand most of it myself. The things I have learn about my abilities have either come from weird spiritual or mythology text-books and extensive internet browsing, or experience, and since the former doesn't seem to have anything in there on mentally powered swords I have to rely on firsthand knowledge.

"Are they dangerous?" Finally, Thor had decided to ask broadcast that everyone had been thinking, but no one dared to speak to my face. Everyone looked from him to me in anticipation, even Tony (who knew the answer) was curious as to how I would reply.

What could I tell them? That there was no reason for them to panic, that it was perfectly safe? It wouldn't be a complete lie. I know it's under control or else every time I get extremely angry or sad I'd end up shredding the room to pieces, but was it safe to say that there were no dangers? After what happened?

It's their right to know exactly who they're working with and I definitely should have told them about it, I know all they're powers and dangers, they should know all mine.

"No." I said, biting my lip. "Not anymore"

"Anymore?" Banner prompted me further.

I sighed. "I've worked on it, learnt to control it" Which was a long and exhausting task, and I was glad to find out that my blades can't injure _me _or else it could have gone horrible wrong. It was worth it though, in the end, even If I did have to isolate myself for a while. "But..when it first appeared I didn't know what was going on, and things...got out of control and it really was dangerous."

"What happened?" Natasha had barley finished the last word before Tony interrupted.

"That's not important." He shot up in his seat, deciding that now was the time to protect me. That's the thing about him; he can act like jerk all he wants, but he'll stand up for you when you need him.

"Yes, it is." I contradicted "I know how it works. You guys need to know the truth, you need to know everything or you can't trust me, right?"

It was a rhetorical question, so I didn't wait for a reply. Instead, I took a deep breath before plunging into the deep-end, and beginning to tell them everything...

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**So there you have it. A bit short, but it was originally longer with a break in the middle, but then it was too long, so I made it into two. Next part will be up soon x **

**I apologise again for the waiting and stuff. Thank you to my lovely followers, reviewers, and...favouriters, which isn't even a word, but who cares :) **

**Again, constructive criticism is welcome and encouraged ;D **


	7. Chapter 7 - In the Past

**FINALLY! I have written another Chapter! :D **

**I felt really bad yesterday, because I got an E-mail yesterday notifying me someone else was following the story, and I suddenly remembered that I'd promised to post weeks ago! **

**So, even though I'm not too pleased with this chapter, I decided I must upload it now or I never will. **

**IMPORTANT: This Chapter is based in the past, just to explain a little bit of background, so it's more of a filler really. But, it is needed so you know how she discovered her Psionic Blades. **

**Now, without further ado...**

Telling my parent's everything hadn't gone as I had expected.

I don't know how exactly I had imagined them to react, though I know some part of me had hoped they'd think it was no big deal and everything would be fine. Thinking that life would go on as normal was a nice thought. Naive, and completely out of the question, but nice.

Other than praying for understanding, I had no idea what to be prepared for. Not only that, but I didn't really know exactly how to tell them either, that's why I'd put it off for so long. It wasn't just something you could randomly bring up in everyday conversation, because it wasn't an everyday topic. It was something you had to build up the courage to say, you needed to be prepared for the long awkward silence after you've blurted out the truth, and then the uncomfortable first words that break it.

Thinking back, I can remember exactly how I'd told them.

I had sat them down in the sitting room and said that we needed to talk, there was something I had to discuss with them. How could I have known that in about a week's time, we would sit in the exact same room, talking about the exact same thing? Only then it would end in a completely different way.

At first my father thought it was drugs.

My mother thought I was pregnant.

What they hadn't expected, was what I said next.

I had been nervous, the truth had fallen out of my mouth clumsily and in a series of rushed stutters and fumbled words, where it then lay at their feet, waiting for them to say something, anything.

In the end, the discussion never came; they barely said anything actually. They barely reacted. It was like they, hadn't really accepted it or they thought I'd made the whole thing up right there and then for some stupid practical joke, even though they'd seen it with their own eyes. The little voice inside of me that had hoped they'd understand still wanted to believe that they were fine with it all. 'They're in shock' I would tell myself, 'just give them some time.'

And so I did.

I waited. Nothing happened. They turned it over in their minds, getting ready for the right moment.

It was the calm before the storm.

When I came home a week later, after spending most of the day at a friend's house, I had expected things to go on as the rest of the week had. I'd go upstairs to my room, come down to dinner later if I felt like it, where we'd eat in silence till we'd finished and I could flee to the confinement of my room once more. However, on that bleak, overcast Saturday afternoon, there was one thing I'd overlooked. I had failed to notice that outside, behind my parents own car, a van was parked up to the curb.

Even if I had noticed it, it probably wouldn't have made a difference to me, because there was nothing strange about it. From an outsiders point of view it looked like an ordinary white van. I'd have still gone into the house, maybe asked my parents if next door was having some work done or something, before the next events would play out in the exact same way. But when I saw it later on, I would still feel like an idiot for ignoring it, as if that one tiny detail would have changed anything.

I walked through the front door, threw my keys on the side table where they belonged, and had just got to the second step when my father's voice called me into the sitting room. I remember the feeling of dread, as if I could tell from the tone in his voice that we were going to have one of those 'chats' that parents have with their children, when they rant endlessly and maybe even ground them for a week or so. Though that seems like an easy punishment compared to what really happened.

"What's wrong?" I questioned, un-slinging my bag from my shoulder and dumping it somewhere near the doorway.

My mother, Jennifer Carter, was sat on the very edge of couch, looking away and staring blankly at a random patch of carpet on the floor, hand's fidgeting nervously in her lap. My father, Thomas, was stood like a guard by the fireplace, keeping watch over the whole room with a stance that spoke of authority and stubbornness. I could tell, just by walking into that room that something was off, something was different.

And sure enough, to the left of the room, a stranger sat, looking oddly out of place amongst my mother's furniture. He wore a suit, fashionable but businesslike, the shirt crisp white as if it had only just been ironed. At his feet was a leather bound briefcase.

"Christina, this is Dr Walker."

The indicated man stood up, offered me his hand with a fake smile plastered on his face. I awkwardly shook it, still slightly dazed by the whole situation. "Hello, Christina."

I didn't like him. Not a bit.

He sounded overly cheery, but I saw right through it. The air around him was too cold, too reserved for him to come across as friendly to me. And when he stood back he watched me carefully, it was as if he was preparing for something to happen, something I knew I wouldn't like.

"What's going on?" I asked innocently, already having a faint suspicion as to why he was here anyway. What else could it be? A stranger, who I've never met before, randomly shows up in my house, without having anything to do with the fact that just a week ago I'd told my parents that I have 'super-powers'? A strange coincidence, is it not?

My father cleared his throat, fidgeted with the cuffs of his shirt. "He's here to discuss what you told us about last week." He replied, after some hesitation, his voice growing quiet, as he shifted on his feet just a little.

I looked at Walker, saw his encouraging (but still false) smile, and sensed that they'd already told him everything I'd said to them. He'd been filled in before my arrival, so there was no point I hiding anything.

"About my powers?" I confirmed, looking away from the man and back to my dad. My voice had come across as surprisingly calm and indifferent, despite the growing uneasiness I felt just being in the room.

"Yes." He looked at the Doctor uneasily. "About that."

He couldn't even say it then, it was almost as if when he said the words it would become real for him. Maybe he didn't believe it at the time, maybe he still doesn't, because whenever I had brought it up and tried to talk about it before then he had brushed it aside, said he didn't want to hear it. And even now, years later, if I sought him out and asked, he'd probably deny the whole ordeal.

A minute had passed, nobody had spoke. There was a tension fused into the atmosphere, filling every breath with the deadening feeling of anticipation, and making each silence filled gap deafening.

My father cleared his throat again. "You see.." He began, looked away and swallowed hard. "Dr Walker thinks he might be able to help you."

"Help me?" That had peaked my interest. I looked between the two men in the room. "You're saying he can find out where it came from?"

Those were the days when the questions had still plagued me, and where this thing had appeared from was one of them. I imagined he could run some tests, scan my brain, and I could get some answers. But that's not what he had in mind.

"I'm saying he could fix you."

I frowned. For a second I couldn't make any sense. What did he mean 'fix me'? There was nothing to fix, I was perfectly alright. I wasn't hurt, I wasn't ill, there was nothing wrong with me, right?

And then I caught up. Suddenly, my father's nervousness, my mother's reluctance and the doctors fake optimism, all fit together. This wasn't a discussion, that had already happened, they had planned it long ago and the decision had already been made.

I knew exactly what was going on.

"Dr Walker controls a ward, in an institute just outside of town" My father mumbled, his words hurried as he tried to be free of them as quick as possible, just like I had done in the exact same room several days earlier. "He can get you the help you need."

"I-I-I don't need any help." I argued. My voice sounded confused and foreign to me, it was like a child's voice. A child that didn't understand why this was happening to her.. "There's nothing wrong with me." Eyes searched the floor as if the answer was written there, as thoughts ran through my head.

"Chris..." He'd faltered, showed some emotion in his voice, some reluctance. He'd used my nickname instead of the full name used when I was in serious trouble. For those short few seconds he was my father again, scared for his daughter, making an appearance in that short word.

But then he sighed, looked away for a moment and began to speak again, fading into the crowd of troubled thoughts and instead becoming a stranger, who, like Doctor Walker, didn't understand me. "Christina, you're sick."

"Sick?" I was getting annoyed, angry even. Had they not heard a thing I'd said? Did they even care? "What do you think I am? I'm not a disease!"

That's exactly what he thought. All along my father had refused to accept my powers for what they were, it was more like an illness to him, something that could probably go away with a few pills and a good dose of therapy. I wonder if he still thinks that way now.

"I never said that, it's just..." He searched for the right word, but I don't think he ever found it. so he had to settle for something else instead. "This...thing that you can do, it isn't normal... You're not normal."

I stopped, those three words had stunned me into silence, and I knew then what my father thought of me, what the whole world would think of me.

I was a freak. That's what had passed through my parents minds when I showed them, they had no idea what they're daughter had become or what she was capable off. Part of them were afraid. To them I wasn't human anymore, to everyone else I was an animal who's only purpose was to be locked up and prodded at to see what they could make me do.

And of course, I know now that that's probably what the Doctor wanted me for all along. He wasn't there to 'help' me as he had told my parents, no, he wanted to study me, conduct experiments and see how he could harness whatever it was that made me this way. It's a dangerous power, telepathy, if you have enough strength to use it, and that's probably what he wanted.

The next part is a bit of a blur.

I remember backing away, bumping into the doorframe and not being able to move any further. Paralysed by the realisation of what I had walked into when I entered the house that afternoon.

I remember my father walking over, enclosing me in a stiff, awkward hug. And his apology, quiet but firm, condemning me to a life spent in rooms where they'd turn me into a living test subject, or god knows what else.

I remember seeing that across the room Walker had opened his briefcase, and taken out an object.

It started.

All it had taken was one look at the drug filled syringe that the Doctor held, and then something clicked inside me, something that changed me forever.

It was a strange feeling, but one I had felt before, when I was thirteen. I remember it exactly, the electric surge that flows through you as if a switch flicked on in your mind, and the surreal feeling you have, like none of it is really happening, like your imagining it. Every nerve in my body had came alive in that moment, every muscle tensed in anticipation, and my heartbeat had echoed in my ears, pounding furiously against my skull. I felt everything much more prominently, from the way my blood coursed violently through my veins, to the way my lungs filled as I inhaled a gasping breath.

I knew what was happening, but I didn't understand why. All I remember thinking, as my mind went into overdrive, was: _Why now? Of all the time and places, why this moment? _

Maybe it was destiny (if you believe in that sort of thing), because if it hadn't happened then, where would I be now? Certainly not in SHEILD headquarters, explaining my story to a team of superheroes as we try to save the earth. No. I'd probably be stuck in some lab somewhere, getting tested on. Or perhaps they'd have just locked me in a room and left me to rot, like some sort of diseased animal that no one cares about anymore.

Whether I wanted it to or not, it happened. The man continued moving and my father had kept telling me in a stern voice that this is what needed to happen, that I wasn't normal. None of it had reached me, I had been too focused on the slight burning sensation that enveloped my hands, tingling my skin.

My father pulled back from his hug, gripped my shoulders tightly and held me in place. I struggled, but he managed to keep me there as the doctor applied something cold to my arm. Antiseptic. Soon I would lose consciousness. And where would I be then?

The thought frightened me and struck me into action. I struggled harder. Pushing, kicking, grabbing at my father's hands where they held me tightly by the shoulders. But it was no use, his hold was like a vice, and my struggles did nothing.

And then...

...my hand stopped burning. Just as suddenly as it had started.

Instead, a coolness spread through me as an object pressed into my palm. I looked down at as best I could, but could only make out something that looked like a shard of glass, no bigger than a pencil, that shimmered a ghostly blue. The weight of it was foreign in my hand, yet suiting me at the same time, as if I had held it many times before, even though that was the first time I had laid eyes upon it. I grabbed it desperately, like a life-line, before the mirage could disappear.

At the time, I didn't question where it had come or how it wasn't shredding my skin to pieces as I clutched it. Instead, I saw it as a way out, a way of escape. Whatever this thing was, no matter how I had conjured it, this could save me.

From across the room I caught sight of my mother, and for the first time she looked at me and met my gaze.

Her eyes, streamed with tears, were wild, full of fear and anguish, and laced with a sort of pleading essence that I had never seen from her before. My mother was scared of my powers. My own mother, reduced to a trembling statue, hiding in the background at the power I possessed. She would never look at me in the same way again, would never see me as her daughter anymore, I was a dangerous animal now. Things could never go back to the way they were.

Even though it lasted no longer than a second. That look was one of the most horrid things I had ever seen, and till this day it still haunts me.

She had known, when she caught sight of the glass, what I was going to do, she knew I was going to try and escape. And that look, that daunting look, was her way of begging me not to. She wanted me to give in, be a good girl and let them take me away to god knows where. She wanted me gone.

But I couldn't do it. Was that selfish of me?

If you knew you only had one chance, one chance or they'd lock you up forever, would you take it?

Maybe, if it had been you instead of me, you'd have done the right thing. But I was afraid. I know that's no excuse, but I was only a kid back then, and I was desperate. And if your desperate enough, your conscience fades, your mind focuses on how to get out of there alive. What I hadn't considered was who would get caught in the crossfire.

My father's hands gripped me tighter, as the needle pierced my skin, and entered my vein.

My instincts kicked in.

It happened so fast.

I took the chance.

Before I'd even had time to think about it, before he could force the toxin into my blood stream, there was a flash of blue as my hand moved.

There was a flurry of movement and panic.

I struck twice.

One figure had retreated, he'd let go of the syringe in shock and moved just in time to only get a minor slash from the weapon.

Amidst the chaos, someone yanked me away, making a grab at my arm to seize me once more.

That person hadn't been so lucky.

The grip loosened. I saw his eyes widened a fraction and his breath hitched in his throat.

Time had stopped. There was no movement, there was no sound, apart from our shallow breaths and the drum of our hearts. We stood there, frozen in time, for what had felt like forever, but could have only lasted a second. Then he looked down, and life began move on in fragments, only pieces stuck out in my mind.

I remember my blood pounding in my head as I followed his gaze and saw the glimmering blue of a knife, no bigger than a small pencil, lodged in my father's gut.

I stopped breathing.

A drop of blood ran down the sharp edge, and fell, scarring the carpet black forever.

My mother screamed, it was a twisted sound that echoed out of the house and through the street.

Another drop shortly followed.

"_Dad?"_

Blood consumed the white cloth around the blade, as it soaked into his shirt.

I let go and the knife dissipated like they had never been there in the first place, blameless.

I remember a smudge of crimson on my finger.

Then my father had fell, his face contorted.

Through the mist of confusion I had seen the stranger and my mother rush down to put pressure on a large wound that leaked onto the floor.

When I think of that moment now I can't remember exactly how I had felt, or what thoughts had passed through my mind. But looking back, I know this was when I had to make the hardest decision I'd ever faced up until that point. And I only had a few seconds to make it.

Stay and help? Or run?

In the end, I ran.

**So, I hope it's not too bad. (I seem to be saying that a lot, don't I?)**

**I'll try to update more often, I just really, really struggled with this one. We're going back to the Hellicarrier in the next Chapter :D **

**As always, thanks for following the story. And thank you so much for your reviews, they mean the world to me. Please keep them coming x**


	8. Chapter 8

Hi guys :)

So there's a few things I want to apologise for, and a couple of things I need to mention.

Firstly, I apologise profoundly for the delay. At first it was the bane of this story, writers block, then exams kicked in, and everything got muddled...

But, thankfully, my last exam was on Monday, so I have some stress-free time back. Yay! :D

Because of that you hopefully won't have to wait as long as you have for uploads, but I make no promises on that.

Okay, now down to business.

I should mention (probably at the beginning) that THIS IS NOT A CHAPTER, BUT PLEASE READ ON, IT IS IMPORTANT. (I promise that the chapter is coming soon.)

I have been thinking about this story a lot, even if I haven't had the chance to write, and I must say that I am still a little unsure about the conclusion of the last chapter.

The whole thing with her father seems a little over the top. But then again, sometimes it think it sounds okay... What do you guys think?

I can re-write it, without the bit about her father, but with a similar conclusion so that the result is the same. Or, I could leave it as it is. I would really like some help with this decision, because it's been troubling me for some time.

This is not a scheme to get more reviews, you don't have to do that. Just send me a PM with your opinion, and it will be much appreciated. So, please put me out of my misery and let me know.

Also, bear in mind that the next chapter will be a little different based on the decision made. I will write two versions and see if I get any responses. If not, I will have to figure out which one to post.

Now, tomorrow is my study day, so I will be writing nonstop :D

Sorry, for keeping you so long, and sorry for the late updates.

If you've done your exams then I hope they went well. If you haven't done them yet then good luck. ...And you don't have exams at all then lucky you!

Chapter will be up soon xxx


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